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How many locations will trigger a lock screen message?
How many locations will trigger a lock screen message?

An Apple Wallet pass can have up to 10 relevant locations.

Paul Tomes avatar
Written by Paul Tomes
Updated over a week ago

---------- VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE (July 1, 2020) ------------

Google that they have turned off the Geo triggered notifications for Google Pay for the moment. So, on Google's behalf, we are very sorry to inform you that any of your customers who use Android phones and have saved your pass to Google Pay will no longer receive a notification when near to your location(s). Your customers can still access and use their pass in their Google Pay app. They just won't see a notification to remind them of the pass when they are nearby.

Google tell us they plan to switch it back on but they will be implementing a new methodology, to fix the lag issue and as Android 10 get adopted more. They have not committed to a timeframe but we will update this article as soon as we learn more.

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Each Apple Wallet pass can contain a maximum of 10 locations.

The 10 locations constraint is an Apple Wallet constraint and not a PassKit constraint. It is fixed for 2 key reasons:

  • Reduce battery consumption when scanning for locations or beacons

  • Keep the size of the pass file manageable

In contrast to notifications delivered to the lock screen when a pass is updated, location triggered messages are 'passive'.

Location triggered messages are passive.

Passes let your users take some action in the real world, so accessing them needs to be easy and fast. Apple Wallet makes relevant passes immediately accessible by integrating them with the lock screen. To take advantage of this feature, add information about where and when your pass is relevant. For example, a gym membership card is relevant at the gym, while a boarding pass is relevant at the airport but only near time the flight begins boarding.

In cases where you have more than ten relevant locations you have to pick the best ten. There are a variety of ways to do this.

  • Create a number of different Templates (or Tiers) for the various groups of customers. i.e. Rather than create one Pass Template for all your customers. You can create a Pass Template for your New York based customers and then copy the Template to create another one for your Florida based customers;

  • You could allow customers to add their favorite store or the stores they frequently visit. Or;

  • Like any other fields, the locations can be updated. A Pass could have very generic location information initially, and then replaced over time with relevant locations tailored specifically to your customer.

Keep messages concise

While there is no specific character limit for location triggered notifications, it is advisable to keep them concise and directive for optimal display.

Please note that if a notification message exceeds the available space on the Lock Screen, iOS may truncate it, potentially cutting off crucial information. The size of the text displayed varies depending on the user's screen size and system font settings. To ensure your message is suitable and effectively displayed, we recommend testing it on various devices.

By crafting short and directive notifications, you can maximize the chances of your message being fully visible and understood by the recipient.

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